Mobb Deep

The infamous Mobb Deep have joined forces with 50 Cent’s G-Unit — the crew and the record label — for Blood Money, their eighth album. Inspiration comes into question on this album. There’s no point comparing this album to earlier classic Mobb Deep material, which was mostly inspired by darkness. But most of Blood Money sounds inspired by Mobb Deep getting a pay raise from 50 Cent. Consequently most of the record sounds uninspired. Mobb Deep have never had a problem recording a lot of songs, and there are still a few good songs on this album. "Pearly Gates” has a sweet gangster concept of the Mobb scheming their way into the Promised Land over a crisp snappy beat. "The Infamous,” produced by Alchemist, has a solidified Mobb Deep vigour, and "In Love with the Moula” is a butter-smooth track with creative, tightly flowing lyrics dedicated to the dough. The ugly underbelly of Blood Money is the abundance of disappointing, unfocused material that shouldn’t be on an album from a group widely acclaimed as rap pioneers.